Even Romeo and Juliet Had it Easier
by rikromacleo
Summary: When Mr. Fitz takes the junior class to Shakespeare's homeland England, the liars still can't seem to escape A's wrath while Aria and Ezra discover their relationship was easier to maintain in Rosewood.
1. Follow my orders and no one gets hurt

"Juniors may I remind you that tomorrow is your last day to hand in your permission slips for this year's trip to Mr. Fitz or Mrs. Kaine." The perky junior class president boomed over the intercom. This year's English class trip was visiting England also known as the home of Shakespeare.

Aria Montgomery grabbed the last few books out of her locker and walked into Mr. Fitz's classroom. She took her usual seat in the back between Hanna Marin and Noel Kahn. She smiled at Hanna as she slid into her seat. She watched as her other best friends Spencer Hastings and Emily Fields walked in behind Mr. Fitz. He looked her way and his lips curled up in a tiny smile. Hanna followed her friends gaze to the front of the room as Mr. Fitz was unloading his bag.

"Hey," Hanna whispered.

Aria looked over at Hanna who was leaning over into the aisle. Aria met her halfway.

"What?"

"Is there a way the school could sponsor a student who…I don't know… doesn't have enough money to pay for this trip?"

"Han, seriously if you're trying to save money I think there are…"

Hanna rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'm not talking about me."

"Then who are you talking about?" Aria asked.

"Caleb," Hanna said. "I really want him to go but his foster mom won't pay for it."

Aria leaned over more. "He does do some sort of a 'business'," she whispered.

Hanna bit her lip and Aria gave her a look. "Just ask…please."

"Why do I have to do it?"

"Because you're so get at getting what you want with him." Hanna replied under her breath. Aria suppressed a laugh.

"Fine," she whispered. "I'll do…later though."

Once class was over and everyone was piling out, Aria stood up her legs in need of a good stretch. The room was empty except for Ezra and her.

"Hey," she walked up to his desk. He sipped some coffee out of his mug.

"Hey…" He replied. They smiled at each other.

She walked over to a desk and leaned against it. "So I was thinking about the trip…"

"Aria," he interrupted her. She looked up her eyes big with curiosity.

"What?"

"I can't find your permission slip. You turned it in right?" He held up a stack of envelopes.

Aria's mouth hung open. "Yah, I swear I turned it in at the way beginning."

Ezra shrugged. "I don't know what happened to it…it's not here."

Aria slightly groaned. "Well what am I going to do?" She felt something vibrate against her leg and realized that her phone was ringing in her purse. She pulled it out feeling a little bit woozy. Her fingers started to grasp the phone hard as she read:

LOOKS LIKE YOUR TRIP MAY NOT HAPPEN. SO SAD! BUT DON'T WORRY, YOU'LL GET YOUR PERMISSION SLIP BACK, IF YOU DO A CERTAIN SOMETHING FOR ME. -A

Aria immediately froze and her face paled.

"What's wrong?" Ezra asked suddenly concerned. Aria gulped contemplating whether or not to tell him or not. This was a touchy subject and she was paranoid that somehow A would find out and do something else to Ezra, it's not like A hadn't done anything already.

"Nothing." She shook her head as if it would somehow shake the memory of the horrid text. "I have to go."

"What about your slip?" He asked.

"I'll figure it out!" She called as she left the room. She fast-walked down the hallway towards Emily's locker. She was standing with her back to Aria, she quickly tapped her shoulder.

She jumped and turned around only to realize it was just Aria. She sighed with relief. "You scared me."

Aria's face froze. "Did you get a note too?"

Emily's brow crinkled with confusion. She started to unload her backpack. "No…did you?"

Aria looked at the ground and back up again. "Yes. A took my permission form and I'm not getting it back unless I do something for her…I, I mean, him…I mean…" She stopped talking feeling completely puzzled.

"Do what?" Emily asked.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling it's not good."

The bell rang and Emily waved goodbye. Aria closed her eyes and sighed feeling out of control of her own complicated life. She walked mindlessly to study hall and hoped that today wouldn't turn out to be hell.

Aria met up with her friends at lunch. She took a seat across from Spencer, behind her Emily and Hanna shortly followed her to the table.

Spencer had an annoyed look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Aria asked.

Startled, Spencer looked up. "Oh, nothing, I was just…zoning out."

Aria slowly nodded once and took a seat.

"Did you ask Ezra about the trip?" Hanna asked.

Aria's shoulders dropped. "No…I'm sorry I was about to, but I got a text from…you know who."

Emily shot her a sympathetic look.

"Which reminds me, I need to see…" Aria paused. "If I got anymore."

She rummaged through her purse while Spencer started up a conversation about the trip.

"Guys." Aria said seriously. They all looked up, they knew that tone _too_ well. "I can't find my phone."

"What do you mean you can't find it?" Hanna asked.

"I mean it's not in my purse, my pockets, or…anything!" She threw her hands up in despair. She tapped her fingers nervously on the table and grabbed her bottle of juice. She heard a gasp and then "Aria".

She looked up and noticed they were all leaned in over her tray. There was a hot pick post it note where her bottle used to be. She recognized the handwriting right off the bat.

WANNA KNOW WHAT TO DO NEXT? GO TO MR. FITZ'S CLASSROOM AFTER LUNCH AND YOU'LL SEE…

They all whipped their heads around the lunch room. Everyone seemed to be acting perfectly normal.

"What are you going to do?" Emily asked. Aria shrugged and looked around once more. She caught Ezra's eye across the room. He was over by the far wall talking to some teachers. Aria tried to smile or acknowledge him but she was far too concerned at the moment.

When lunch was over Aria headed towards the direction of Ezra's classroom. She told her friends she wanted to do this alone, they already had their own A problems, why drag them into hers? She bit her lip anxiously as she approached the door. Five minutes had passed since the lunch bell rang. She took the long way to delay the situation as long as possible. She reached out to open the door and her arms suddenly stiffened when she noticed the room was full of students who were socializing. Aria didn't know what to do but to go inside. Few students noticed Aria come in the door and she ignored their looks as she decided where to go and what to do next. Her heart pounded as more and more students looked her way. She was standing in front of the door and realized she was blocking people's way in. As she scooted left she heard a familiar noise. A buzzing sound. She realized it was her phone. The noise grew louder in her ears as she followed the noise towards the desk. It was muffled so no one else heard it but her. The buzzing continued and she realized it was coming from his bag, which was perched on his chair. She cautiously stepped towards it avoiding the eyes that were now all on her. Dead silence erupted as she opened the bag. Her phone, still buzzing was at the bottom. She took it out. A few seconds passed as she held the still vibrating phone in her hands. It suddenly stopped. A text message was open on her phone.

LOOK HARDER…

Aria glanced at the open bag and recognized a beige envelope with a brown stain near the corner. It was her permission form. Her mother had spilled coffee on it as she was signing the forms. She quickly took it and closed the flap. Her heart was beating, someone coughed and she looked up. Everyone was looking at her. She backed out quickly and as she ran she took out the sheet. She was relieved to find all the signatures and papers unharmed. She stuffed the envelope into her bag and got out her phone.

Hey, found my permission slip, I'll give it to you later and I need to ask you something.

-Aria

She looked around the hallway once more and took off around the corner. But what she didn't know was that down the hall beyond Mr. Fitz's class, someone was watching her…


	2. Who knew paranoia was a side effect

Aria flopped onto Ezra's brown leather couch that afternoon letting her body sink into the cushions. It was half past four according to the clock on Ezra's bedside table. He sat down next to her.

"So where did you find it?" He wrapped his arm around Aria's shoulders.

"Oh…it was in my locker." Aria rolled her eyes like she forgot. She bit her lip. She had been contemplating on telling Ezra about A, but the only thing he knew about it was that the person called 'A' knew about their relationship and basically broke them up.

"So," Aria faced him. "I was talking to Hanna today and she was telling me that her friend Caleb can't go on the trip because he can't afford it, and I was thinking is there any way the school could sponsor a student or something?"

Ezra shrugged. "We'd have to get enough money first."

Aria sighed.

"But it's not a bad idea." He got up and rummaged through some papers on his desk. "The trip itself costs twenty-two hundred, but I think that if it would benefit a less fortunate student they may go for it."

Aria smiled and stood up. She walked over to Ezra and kissed him. "It's perfect."

The next day Hanna and Aria approached Caleb who was sitting in the courtyard with Lucas.

"Hey." Hanna slid next to him. "I've got great news."

Hanna nodded at Aria who took out a large envelope. She handed it over to Caleb.

"What's this?"

"This is a permission slip for next week's trip to England, Aria and I pulled a few strings and we got the school to let you go on the trip...for free." Hanna smiled triumphantly. Caleb's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What, you don't want to go?" Hanna asked.

"I do, but," he looked at Aria and Lucas. "I don't need to be some charity case or something."

"No, no, the school does these kinds of things all the time." Aria explained. "We just needed a deserving student like yourself."

Caleb half smiled.

"Come on, it'll be fun." Hanna urged. "You don't want to be stuck in Rosewood all alone on break, trust me."

"Okay, sure." He gave in.

"Yay!" Hanna cheered and wrapped her arms around him.

Lucas looked at Aria. "How did you guys do this?"

"Aria can be pretty persuasive." Hanna gave Aria a mischievous grin. "So get this signed…and we'll be on a plane in no time."

Spencer dropped yet another sweater into her large Coach suitcase and crossed it off her checklist.

"Red sweater…check."

"Brown boots…" She rummaged through her suitcase and found them nestled on the bottom. "Check."

Spencer's eyes searched the list for unchecked items. It was a day before the trip and she doing a last minute look-over.

"Bras…check."

"Is this really necessary?" Hanna asked. Hanna along with Aria and Emily were seated on Spencer's king sized watching her scour the contents of her suitcase.

"Yes." Spencer replied without looking up from her paper. She checked off one more item and set it down. "Done. Happy?"

Emily looked out the window. "I'm not gonna miss this place."

Her friends sighed.

"Do you think A will text us in a different country?" Emily asked suddenly worried.

"Well, A seems to follow us in school too. A could be going on the trip."

"Please don't say that." Hanna begged. "I'd like to enjoy my trip with Caleb, not have it turn into _Days of Our Lives._"

"At least you have someone there." Spencer said. She thought about what Toby would be doing while she was gone, hopefully missing her so much he could cry.

"Hey, you've got us." Aria said.

"Yah, if you're not too busy flirting with our tour guide." Spencer joked. Aria looked at her. "What?"

Aria shook her head.

"Well I for one will not be totally absorbed in my love life. I deserve a vacation. We all do."

The rest of her friends nodded.

Suddenly, they all heard a rustling noise outside. They all jumped off of Spencer's bed and moved towards each other. They heard another noise but it was louder this time. Aria shrieked and grabbed Emily's hand. Another noise sounded from the kitchen. They whipped their heads towards Spencer's door and quietly approached it. They tip-toed downstairs following close behind the other. The rounded the corner of the stairs and looked out into the kitchen. A figure appeared in the doorway. They all screamed.

"Jesus!" They heard a girl wail. A light turned on above her head and the noticed the tall, pregnant figure of Melissa. They all sighed with relief as they let go of each other's grip.

"Sorry…we thought you were someone breaking in." Spencer advised her sister.

Melissa wrinkled her brow but quickly shook it off. "I'm going back to the barn if you need me, try not to though."

And with a swivel of her hip she was gone. Spencer clomped down the rest of the stairs.

"Leave it to A to leave us completely paranoid in our own homes. I can't even sleep with my light off anymore." She groaned.

"I still have to sleep with my pig puppet sometimes." Aria mentioned then suddenly regretting it. "Please don't mention that again."

Her friends suppressed a smile.

"So what time are you and Fitzy meeting up before the trip?" Hanna cooed.

"Huh?" Aria asked dumbfounded.

Hanna rolled her eyes. "He sends you texts like every other hour."

Aria slid into a bar stool. "Well that doesn't mean you can read them."

"He seems desperate. I bet he grabs you the minute you walk in the door and gives a big sloppy french kiss!" Hanna flailed her arms around for dramatic effect.

Spencer slid the butter knife she used to smear peanut butter on her bread into her mouth. "Okay, that's an image I didn't need to see while I'm eating."

Aria laughed and soon everyone joined in until they were nearly tearing up.

"I think we're all sleep deprived." Aria announced once they settled down.

Emily wiped her eye. "Agreed."

Spencer checked her wristwatch. "In exactly fourteen hours we'll be on our way to England." Aria sighed.

"I better go." she said. Hanna gave her a sinister smile which Aria returned by sticking her tongue out.

"Me too." Emily announced.

"Me three."Hanna said grabbed her blazer off the Hastings's coat rack. "See you later girlies."

Emily and Aria smiled as they headed out the door. Spencer finished her sandwich in peace. She then remembered what Hanna said and shuddered at the thought of Aria and Ezra getting at it. Even seeing them sneak smiles at each other at school was too much.

_Oh God, what's gonna happen in England? _She thought.

Hanna and her mother entered the school alongside Aria and her parents. They made their way towards the cafeteria where they were all meeting before they boarded the bus to Philadelphia. Ezra was leaned against a table talking to some parents and Mrs. Kaine was directing the football players to carry all the bags outside to be loaded.

Ella and Byron approached Ezra just as a group of parents said their good-byes and shook his hand.

"You ready to be responsible for forty high schoolers?" Ella asked.

Ezra laughed softly. "Well, hopefully we won't have too much trouble."

"Nah, Aria and her friends will be a piece of cake." Byron waved it off. "Especially Aria, just direct her towards a museum and you won't get anything out of her for hours."

Ezra forced a teacher-like smile and tried to avoid the irony in his sentence.

"Well it was good to see you Mr. Fitz, take care." Ella said. She smiled and took Byron's arm to locate Aria before she left.

Emily entered the café with her mom and close behind Spencer walked in in front of her mother who was tapping into her Blackberry seeming to not even care her daughter was going to be overseas for the next week.

Spencer and Emily checked in, said a quick (and awkward) hello to Mr. Fitz and then joined Hanna and Aria.

"Guys guess what I found out." Hanna announced gleefully.

They all leaned in longing to her what she had to say.

"I checked with my mom and our phone's won't work over in England."

Aria broke out into a grin along with Emily and Spencer.

"But we're still not off the hook." Spencer reminded them. They nodded trying to avoid any thoughts of a handwritten note that would mean one thing was for sure, that A would be in England with them, and that meant A would be one of their classmate.

Thankfully Mr. Fitz announced everyone was accounted for and they were going to proceed to the buses. Hanna scurried off the find Caleb. Ezra held the door open for everyone. Aria, the last in line, passed before him. He smiled and let the door close behind him. Once they got there they noticed students had already filled the bus seats and the only available room was up front.

Mr. Fitz took a seat next to Mrs. Kaine across the aisle from the seat Emily had saved for Aria. They snuck a quick glance at each other before looking away.

"This is going to be a _long _bus ride." Aria heard Spencer mumble from the seat behind her. Hanna giggled and surprisingly so did Aria too. She was going to England with her best friends _and _her boyfriend and the best part was that there was a fifty percent chance they would be A free. Things were looking up for them.

Aria then felt something smack the back of her seat. She turned around to see Hanna and Spencer's startled faces pointing towards the window. Emily and Aria slowly took a look. Written in the condensation on the window was a small but noticeable 'A'. Emily's heart stopped. Aria could feel herself growing increasingly dizzy.

That only meant one thing. A had snuck onto the bus to write that or A _was _on the bus for Philadelphia…Right. Now. Aria didn't want to admit it, but she was positive it wasn't the first one.

It was going to be along bus ride indeed.


	3. Hanna gets a free gift!

Aria quickly wiped off the 'A' with her sleeve. She glanced at Emily whose face had gone extremely pale.

"How did that happen?" Hanna leaned forward and whispered.

Aria shrugged. Emily bit her lip. Spencer was staring off into space across the aisle.

Ezra turned to look at Aria. He noticed how scared she looked. He peeked at her friends, they had the same nervous expressions. He cleared his throat. "You guys alright?"

Spencer jumped along with Emily. "Y-yah. We're fine."

Ezra looked back and forth between the two seats and then turned to face forward. Mrs. Kaine was reading a novel next to him, Mona Vanderwaal and Noel Kahn were chatting it up in the seat behind him and the bus driver was listening to eighties music on a tiny portable radio. He slouched down in his seat trying his best to relax. He snuck a peak at Aria once more. She was staring ahead at the back of a seat. She suddenly noticed him looking at her and produced a small smile.

Soon the sights of Philadelphia filled their windows and students began stirring and getting ready to exit the charter bus. The Philadelphia National Airport loomed in the distance. The bus driver pulled up and stopped in the unloading zone.

"Okay everyone, your bags are being unloaded from the bus as we speak so make sure you have your carry-ons with you and follow me!" Mrs. Kaine chirped and motioned for the students to follow her out. Aria and her friends exited first, Ezra followed. He caught up with Aria.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Aria stopped and faced him. She longed to tell him about A, but if she did then would what happen? Ezra could get hurt or A could try to break them up…again.

"I'm fine." She smiled. She turned on her heel and followed her friends inside. Ezra helped unload the rest of the luggage from the back of the bus. He noticed a tan colored Ralph Lauren suitcase propped up. It was spotless and had one tag on it in neat handwriting. He was right to assume it was Spencer's. He saw two Coach suitcases and a smaller one huddled together. He assumed it was Mona's. Then he finally saw a large red suitcase with skid marks across it. He noticed a paper tag looped around the sign handle. It said RKV. He immediately knew it was Aria's and the last time she used this suitcase was when she was in Iceland. He grabbed it along with Spencer's and followed the bus driver inside the revolving doors.

The students were lined up with Mrs. Kaine at the counter awaiting their tickets. The airport was busy as usual that morning. The bus driver came back in and told him everything was unloaded. Ezra thanked him and watched him climb onto the bus and leave. He joined the line behind a pale kid with carrot-colored hair. His watch said it was nine thirty-eight. Their plane leaved at ten forty-five and he assumed that it would take twice as long to get through security with all the girls in the group. He had seen them around school all year carrying large bags and shoes that were impossible to get off in less than a minute. He just hoped it wasn't crowded.

He was wrong. After they all got their tickets and were heading for security, Ezra noticed the line snaking through the space that was closed off by ropes.

"Busy day, huh Ezra?" Mrs. Kaine asked suddenly standing right next to him.

"Oh yah. We'll make it right?"

Mrs. Kaine waved off the question. "I've been here loads of times, we'll be on the plane in no time!"

Stuffing his hands in his pockets he slowly etched closer. Aria was already walking through the metal detector. Spencer and Emily followed. Hanna emerged through. The machine checking bags beeped loudly. Red lights were flashing on the sides. Confused Hanna walked over to the conveyer belt awaiting her bag.

"Excuse me miss, but do you own this?" A large, black man asked Hanna. He held her purple leather Burberry purse.

"Yes." She replied. Her heartbeat sped up immensely.

"Could you step over to the side please?" He asked. Hanna did what she was told. He set the bag onto a metal table and started to unload items slowly. Hanna cringed as a bright pink Tampon wrapper was unloaded. The man suddenly produced a small silver looking thing.

"What's this?" He asked harshly.

Hanna gaped at the item. She recognized what it was. _A pocket knife. _"I have no idea where that came from!"

He unfolded all the knifes and scissors. Hanna's eyes grew bigger and bigger. "That's not mine!" She shrieked.

Ezra who was just getting through the metal detector approached. "What's going on?"

"Is this girl with you, sir?"

"Yes, she's my student." He noticed the knife in the man's hand. He looked at Hanna.

"Mr. Fitz that's not mine, you have to believe me!"

He searched his brain for words. Aria and her friends had been involved with all sorts of questionable events, things Aria didn't elaborate on. His gut was nagging him to believe her. He cleared his throat. "This must be a mistake."

The man's brow crinkled in confusion and frustration. "Your to tell me that this sixteen year old girl had a pocket knife in her purse _by accident_?"

Ezra didn't know what to say. The man looked him up and down and noticed he wasn't wearing shoes, just socks. He held up the knife. "This will be mailed back to you."

He put the pocket knife into an envelope and sealed it. He pointed to Hanna. "As for you, you're going to have to be searched some more."

"You're going to strip-search me?" She cried. "But, but…"

A lady in uniform came over with a handheld metal detector. She told Hanna to spread out her arms. She slid the detector in front of Hanna's arms, sides and legs. She then patted the sides of her shirt and jeans. "All clear."

Hanna sighed in relief. The man narrowed his eyes at her and thrust the bag into her arms. Ezra led Hanna back over.

"You alright?"

"I swear that wasn't in my bag before." She breathed.

He nodded. "I believe you."

Hanna's head shot back a little in confusion. Any teacher in their right mind would force Hanna to sit out on the sightseeing they were going to do or make her sit in the front of the plane with a stewardess watching her all at times. She smiled a little. "Thanks Mr. Fitz."

He smiled and touched her arm quickly. "You better join the rest of the group."

Ezra went back to put on his shoes and retrieve his backpack. The students were heading towards the gate in a large group that took up almost the entire aisle. Hanna caught up with her friends.

"What happened?" Aria gawked.

"Someone put a pocket knife in my bag." The girls' jaws dropped.

"Who did it?" Emily asked.

"If I did know I would be beating them up right now." Hanna replied.

"I bet it was A." Spencer muttered. Her friends instinctively froze at the name.

"You think?" Aria whispered.

"Well who else would want Hanna out of the trip. A would do anything to make us miserable." Spencer pointed out.

"Oh, Aria, I was gonna tell you, I see why you like Mr. Fitz so much." She whispered. Aria's jaw opened slightly in response. "Not like that. He believed me and seemed like he cared."

Aria mustered a smile. "He is great, huh? Oh yah what seats do you guys have?"

They compared their seat numbers and figured out that Hanna and Emily were right behind each other, Spencer a few seats back and Aria was nowhere near them. She was seated towards the front. Once they approached the gate, group one was already boarding. The students were going to board next. Mrs. Kaine took role call and directed them to sit down. They took up almost the entire seating, some weren't even sitting in the right gate. Ezra and Mrs. Kaine were told they could let their students on the plane. Everyone's ticket was scanned and soon enough they were entering the plane.

It was quiet and smelled almost like a new car. Students began to sit down and look out the windows. Aria and her friends were towards the end of the line boarding the plane. Hanna and the rest took off down the aisle, off to the middle where their seats were. Aria looked under the overhead bins at the numbers. 10C was her seat. She located rows eight and nine. She almost choked on her own saliva when she saw who was sitting in 10B.

She sat down trying not bump into him. She plopped down in her seat, her arm bumping into his. She looked up at Ezra. They sat there staring at each other for a few seconds. Ezra's lips curled up into a smile. Her hand was rested on the armrest. Ezra looked around to make sure no one was looking and then he gently reached out looped his pinkey around hers. She smiled genuinely for the first time since the bus ride. Their seats were isolated from all of the students. To any stranger they looked like a young couple in love…and that's how Ezra wanted it to be.


	4. The sweet smell of a horrible plane ride

"Please prepare for take-off."

Aria rolled her head to the left and smiled at Ezra. He looked up and smiled back. He was reading a magazine, quietly showing Aria every other page. He watched her as she read the stories he told her read, her eyes darting from one line to the next. He wanted so bad to just grab her and kiss her right there, but with Mrs. Kaine and the rest of the students behind him, he knew he couldn't.

A skinny flight attendant in her mid-thirties came down the aisle to check if everyone had their seatbelts on and that no one was still on their phone.

"Psst." Aria heard from the back of the cabin. "Aria."

Confused, Aria turned around and peered through the opening between her seat and Ezra's. It was Hanna. She was moving her eyebrows up and down seductively. Aria rolled her eyes. Once she turned around she heard Hanna quietly laugh, which only made Aria laugh too.

"What?" Ezra asked hearing her laughter next to him. Aria shook her head and mouthed "Nothing."

Aria got out her book and flipped to her bookmark. The plane started to move down the runway. She glanced out the window. They were making speed and suddenly they were off the ground. She watched Philadelphia become smaller and smaller beneath her. Ezra leaned over and looked out the window too.

"Sometimes I wish it was this easy to get out of Rosewood…" He whispered. Aria couldn't help but smile. What would it be like if they went somewhere? They could just drop everything and spend two weeks in Europe without any care in the world. Aria closed her eyes and sighed, savoring the moment.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We will be cruising at an altitude of thirty-six thousand feet and will arrive at the Heathrow airport in roughly seven hours and forty-five minutes."

Six seats back Hanna rolled her eyes and readjusted her neck pillow. She stubbornly moved it around almost knocking Spencer's coffee out of her hand. They were lucky that a girl wanted to trade seats so they could sit together, unfortunately Emily was stuck in front of them sitting in between Noel Kahn and Sean Ackard.

Spencer closed her eyes and reclined her seat. She hadn't slept at all last night. She kept hearing noises outside her window and saw shadows on her walls. She thought she was turning paranoid or even half-asleep, but after she swore she heard a giggle she was wide awake.

She could still hear that sinister laughter as she closed her eyes in the plane. Her ears were popping over and over again. She needed some Extra gum.

"Emily do you have any gum?" Spencer leaned forward and asked Emily through the seats. Emily propped her bag onto her lap and dug out a piece.

"Thank you." Spencer said. She quickly unwrapped it and shoved it into her mouth. _There, _she thought. _Just relax._

It hadn't even been an hour yet as Ezra and Aria quietly talked in their seats. Ezra was sitting next to a large, man in a brown suit that didn't seem to mind them talking. He certainly hid them from anyone who would glance their way.

"What are we doing when we get there?" Aria asked in her normal voice.

Ezra pulled out a folder from his satchel. "Get to our hotel and hopefully eat a late dinner." He laid out the sheets on the tray in front of him. Aria peered at the paper that had the names of the people who were sharing rooms.

"I put you with your friends if that's what you're wondering." He said and smiled.

"Thanks," Aria said. "I was just seeing how far away my room is from yours."

Ezra swallowed as her words lingered in his mind. He had thought of that when he was assigning rooms. He put Aria and her friends close, but not too close, to his room and the elevator. So if they wanted to quickly sneak out then they could. He put Mrs. Kaine at the other end to chaperone the other rooms. Ezra even put Noel the farthest away possible. He didn't want to deal with him. Noel wasn't even supposed to come on the trip because of his suspension, but since his parents donated a lot of money to the trip fund, the school board couldn't refuse.

Mona walked up the aisle towards the bathroom as another stewardess came the opposite direction with her cart full of snacks and water.

"Want something to eat?" Ezra asked.

Aria shook her head. "I had two bowls of cereal for breakfast…and a granola bar. I think I'm good for the next half hour."

Ezra got a Coke in a small plastic cup and devoured his complimentary pretzels. Due to him needing to be at school extra early, he barely had any breakfast.

A few rows behind them, Emily watched as Noel chugged his whole cup of Pepsi in one swig. She turned to see Sean doing the same thing with his. Noel let out a burp and quietly excused himself. Emily turned around in her seat and eyed Hanna and Spencer.

_I'm sorry._ Hanna mouthed. Spencer shrugged and went right back to sleeping. She looked over to where Aria was sitting and she could see her talking to Mr. Fitz. Aria was smiling, and looking happy, the happiest Emily had ever seen her in public with Ezra before. Emily smiled to herself.

Noel, who saw Emily's face, followed her gaze to them. Emily quickly looked away but before she could pretend to be preoccupied, Noel spoke up.

"That's not going to last you know." He whispered. "Sooner or later, someone's gonna get hurt."

"You would know." Emily shot back. A few curious eyes looked in their direction.

Noel looked forward again pretending to not hear her comment.

Spencer sighed and opened her eyes. "Okay that's it. I'm definitely not going to be able to fall asleep."

"You wanna try this lotion? It's supposed to help you fall asleep." Hanna said waving a purple bottle in front of Spencer's face.

"Why not." Spencer said not so enthusiastically. She put a dab on her palm and rubbed her hands together. She brought her hands to her nose and sniffed. "Mmm. This smells good. What is it?"

Hanna looked at the bottle. "I don't know lilac or something."

Spencer nodded and went back to sniffing her hands. Emily turned around puzzled.

"What is she doing?"

"Hopefully on my way to a deep, deep sleep." Spencer said dreamily answering Emily's question. Emily looked at Hanna who just shrugged and waved her off.

"How much longer do we have?" Hanna whined.

"Seven hours." Spencer said not even opening her eyes. She heard Hanna sigh next to her. Emily saw her get out her iPod.

"Oh, please don't listen to your music."

"Why?"

Emily gave a Hanna a you-know-what-happens-when-you-listen-to-your-music look. "We don't need the whole plane to listen to your singing voice."

"Hey I sing great!" Hanna protested. She heard Sean laugh in his seat.

"Something you'd like to say Sean?" Hanna asked suddenly full of anger. Spencer opened her right eye curiously.

Sean just smiled again and didn't answer. Hanna pressed further.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

"Ms. Marin, is your volume really necessary?" Mrs. Kaine called from the back of the plane. Hanna hadn't noticed she had stood up. She had taken her seatbelt off after they took off because she didn't want the seat belt to wrinkle her Diane Von Furstenberg dress she bought from the King James Mall just yesterday. She sat back down feeling her face heat up with embarrassment. Emily gave her a sympathetic look. Spencer was still trying to sleep.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom." She announced to no one in particular. She squeezed out of her row without bumping into Spencer and walked up to the front of the cabin. She passed Caleb and Lucas who both waved and Mona who blew her a kiss. Their friendship had been pretty rocky ever since she failed to deliver that note from Caleb. She came up to the row Aria and Mr. Fitz were sitting in. Aria smiled while Mr. Fitz didn't even suspect anyone was near. It wasn't until she was in the laboratory that she finally picked up on the fact his arm was rested on her knee.

_What a cute couple. _

Hanna turned around and scrunched up her nose. The place was tiny and it smelt worse than the time when Alison was alive and they snuck into the boys locker room. There was a tiny mirror over the small sink. Hanna suddenly felt like she didn't fit. She quickly turned and looked at every angle of her body. No muffin top, no double chin, no bulging thighs.

_Calm down, Hanna. _

She ignored the mirror and proceeded to figure out how to even use the restroom. Once she was done, she washed her hands with the disgusting smelling soap and the lukewarm water. She slid open the door to find Aria waiting on the other side.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey." Hanna stepped aside and let Aria go in. "Just warning you that the bathrooms at school are nicer than these."

Aria laughed and brushed past Hanna into the tiny, cramped bathroom. She had been in worse airplane bathrooms. On her way to a smaller city in Iceland, they all had to take a tiny, old airplane that reeked of fish and Aria just so happened to have drank a whole cup of orange juice (that she stowed in her purse all the way from Rosewood) that morning. She didn't bother to put the cover over the seat and she didn't even cringe when the dull, brown colored soap hit her hands, she was too anxious to get back to Ezra.

When she went back to her seat, Ezra was nowhere in sight. She looked around and saw him coming up the aisle. She smiled.

"Hey." She said buckling in.

"Hey…" He said. He started to grab his bag. Aria's smile vanished.

"What are you doing?"

"There's some problem with a couple of students back there. Mrs. Kaine wants us to switch places."

"But what good will that do?" Aria blurted out. The man sitting closest to the aisle looked at them questioningly.

Ezra shrugged and slipped his satchel over his shoulder. He gave her a quick smile before he walked to the back of the plane. Mrs. Kaine cheerfully walked right up to her row.

"Aria! Looks like we'll be sitting next to each other for the next," Mrs. Kaine paused to check her watch. "Six and a half hours!"

Aria tried to muster a smile but she was too busy seeing Ezra get comfortable in his seat all the way in the back. He gave her another sympathetic look then directed his gaze towards the magazine he was reading.

Mrs. Kaine started talking about all the "wonderful and breathtaking adventures" they were going to have, but Aria wouldn't even remember a word she said.

Hanna had gotten back to her seat and was trying to get comfortable again. The plane had gotten eerily quiet. All of the sudden, Spencer let out a huge sneeze.

"Bless you." Someone said. Spencer sneezed again, then again.

Hanna's eyebrows crinkled together. "Are you all right?"

"Yah, I'm fine." Spencer said through a nasally voice. She let out another sneeze.

"Were you like this when we got on the plane."

Spencer shook her head. "No I was perfectly fine until…"

She reached over Hanna's lap and grabbed her purse.

"Hey…" Hanna started to protest. Spencer grabbed the lotion bottle and read the small writing on the back. She sighed.

"What?" Hanna asked.

"This has Glycerin in it…I'm allergic to Glycerin."

"Oh…" Hanna snatched the bottle away. "Sorry."

Spencer waved her off. She looked at her hands closely, sure enough she was getting a rash. Hanna leaned over and looked too.

"Looks like you're gonna be wide awake no matter what you do."


	5. It's not a party without Noel Kahn

"Oh look over there!" Hanna exclaimed and threw her arm out the open window to point out _another _store on Oxford Street.

Spencer leaned forward in her seat and yelled across the cab. "Hanna, you can't point out every store on Oxford Street…this is Oxford Street."

Emily was in the middle looking at some pamphlet she grabbed from the Heathrow while Aria was across from them in the fold-out seat behind the driver's seat.

"I know but have you seen this many stores before?" She squealed and took a picture of the Fcuk sign. "I have some serious shopping to do."

"We're not even going to be in London, Ezra said we were mostly taking trains out to other cities." Aria said.

Hanna gaped. "Well, _I _am most definitely going to be sneaking out."

The cab pulled up to the Marriott. A doorman in a black hat opened their doors and helped gather their luggage. Aria quickly got out of the cab and ran towards the door. Spencer and Hanna looked at each other and smiled. Once they got into the lobby it was packed with everyone from their group. It was a spacious place with gray, leather chairs. There were three clocks above the check-in desk. One read New York, one London and the other Tokyo.

"Wow…" Spencer whispered to herself as she took it all in.

"Okay room assignments." Mrs. Kaine yelled as she handed the clipboard to Ezra.

Ezra cleared his throat. "Okay sharing a room is Mona Vanderwaal, Kirsten Templeton, Gemma Campbell and Trista Wolfe."

"Yesss!"

Mrs. Kaine handed Kirsten their key. Ezra read off the next set of names and finally got to the end of the girls' list.

"Aria Montgomery, Spencer Hastings, Emily Fields and Hanna Marin."

A few snickers were heard around the room. Ezra glared at the general direction they were coming from. "And that's it for the girls. You can follow Mrs. Kaine up to your rooms."

Mrs. Kaine led them to the elevators off to the side. Smells from the restaurant next to the lobby wafted through the room.

"Sharing a room will be Noel Kahn, Lucas Gottesman, Sean Ackard and James Freed."

Lucas widened his eyes with horror. Sean and Noel high fived each other while they nudged Lucas' back and laughed.

"Caleb Rivers, Andrew Byers, Xavier Cullen and Topher Reynolds will all share a room."

He read off the rest of the list and handed them their keys. "Follow me."

The boys' rooms were down the hall and already some girls and boys were starting to mingle. Mrs. Kaine called them into a group. Ezra read off the rules.

"You must stay within the hotel at all times. If you are going to another floor, like the lobby, you must ask either Mrs. Kaine or I first. Curfews will be set at ten p.m. anyone who is not in their room by then will get a warning. Three warnings will be deportation back to the Rosewood…"

Everyone laughed. "Sorry I didn't write this list. Anyways, lights out at eleven p.m. If we catch any boys in the girls rooms and vice versa, that is an immediate _deportation._ While we are here there is no drinking or smoking allowed. Please stay with the group during our tours, no wandering off. If we get any complaints from the hotel, you will _all _be punished."

"Is this clear?" Mrs. Kaine asked.

Everyone nodded and replied "Yes."

"Good, now we are going to get something to eat and then go to bed." Mrs. Kaine led everyone to the elevator and started droaning on and on about jetlag. Ezra made sure everyone was en route to the lobby. Noel was at the end.

"You know you have to follow those rules yourself Mr. Fitz. No going into any girl's rooms." He snickered and walked away leaving Ezra standing there in the middle of the hallway.

"Mr. Fitz where's the bathroom?" Aria asked. They were all sitting in the restaurant adjacent to the lobby where they were being served their one and only free meal, compliments of the hotel. Ezra swallowed his food.

"I'll show you." Aria smiled and followed him down the hall. Once they turned a corner they stopped. Aria leaned against the wall.

"So…" She reached out her hands and Ezra took them. "What has Mr. Fitz planned for us?"

"I, think… we should do that romantic jet-setting tomorrow night."

Aria pouted a little. "I've barely spoken to you since the plane ride."

"I know." Ezra looked down the hallway. "And I'll make it up to you I promise."

He leaned into kiss her. "Do you really have to use the restroom or…?"

"Oh, right. Yah."

"Right down there." He pointed down the hall and kissed the top of Aria's head.

Aria pushed the door open. Inside was the most spacious bathroom she'd ever seen. There was a small alcove to her left with a long, wrap-around table and green leather stools. Intricately framed mirrors were placed above each one. There were two rows of stalls and those fancy sinks that were large bowls.

"Wow…I'm going to like it here."

"So are we going to do some sightseeing in London?"

"Probably." Ezra replied as he unzipped his suitcase. Aria was sitting on his bed leaning against his headboard.

"We should go on the Eye. I've heard that's fun."

"Well I could make a suggestion." Ezra pulled out a white t-shirt. He took off his button down shirt he was wearing and shoved the other one over his head. He was dying to just sit down. It was nearly midnight when Aria came to his door and now the clock was inching closer to one a.m.

He flopped on the bed and sighed. "I'm not even a little tired."

Aria smiled. "Well, we could kill some time…"

Ezra's lips curled into a smile, then he turned and kissed her. He wrapped his arms around her and rolled over so Aria was on top of him. Their kisses got more passionate and wild. Aria could hear her heart beat frantically in her chest.

_Thump, thump, thump. _

Ezra smiled and grabbed her face.

_Thump, thump, thump._

Suddenly, Aria realized that wasn't her heart pounding...it was the door.

_Thump, thump, thump. _

They broke apart immediately. Someone was at the door. Aria threw herself on the floor hoping it wasn't Mrs. Kaine. She slid under the bed as far as she could go. Ezra smoothed out his now wrinkled shirt and swung open the door. There stood Lucas in an oversized Star Wars t-shirt and red pants.

"Sorry to bother you Mr. Fitz. Um, I'm not completely comfortable with this whole room situation."

"What's wrong?"

Lucas looked back towards his room. "Noel's kind of…"

"Obnoxious?"

"Well, that and loud. And well, Sean's not exactly my…best bud, but they've been talking for last three hours about-" Lucas stopped in mid-sentence.

"About what?" Ezra asked.

Lucas cleared his throat. "Noel was saying some…bad things about you."

Aria shot up from under the bed so fast she banged her head against the metal bar holding up the mattress.

"Ow." She mouthed to herself. Lucas and Ezra both looked in the room puzzled. Ezra turned back to face Lucas.

"We could get someone to switch with you."

"Look Mr. Fitz with all due respect," Ezra stepped outside and shut his door. "I really don't want to come off as some tattle-tale, so could we maybe keep this between us?"

Ezra sighed. "Mr. Kahn isn't getting off the hook for this one. I specifically told everyone it was lights out by eleven."

Ezra walked down the hall. He stopped at their door. Lucas slowly walked up behind him.

"Open the door." He commanded. He shuddered at how his voice sounded. He wasn't exactly sure if this is what he should be doing. Lucas put the key in the slot. A green light appeared above the knob. Ezra opened the door.

"What the hell?" James whispered as Ezra opened the door. Lucas trailed behind him.

"It is one in the morning!" Ezra raised his voice.

"Lucas, what the hell?" Sean shouted.

"What's wrong with you?" Noel followed.

"This isn't Lucas' fault." He narrowed his eyes at Noel. "Can I see you in the hall Mr. Kahn?"

Noel looked furious. His jaw was clenched and a vein was popping out of his neck. He reluctantly followed Ezra out the door.

"We didn't do anything." Noel said. Ezra crossed his arms over his chest.

"I think it's time you change rooms."

"What?" Noel yelled

Aria peaked through the peephole. She saw Noel and Ezra standing in the hallway. Noel looked angry, like he wanted to punch Ezra.

"Shh!" Ezra fired back. "I told you lights out by eleven!"

"What just because you're my teacher I'm supposed to listen to whatever you say?" Noel said. His voice rising.

"Be quiet." Ezra whispered.

"I'm supposed to sit back and let you steal my girlfriend?" Noel shouted.

"Oh crap." Aria whispered to herself. She didn't care anymore. She unlocked the door. Noel and Ezra looked in her direction. Ezra widened his eyes.

"What is going on out here?" She looked at Ezra, then Noel.

They heard a door open behind them. Sean held the door with James and Lucas behind him.

"What's going on?" They all stepped out of their rooms.

"Just go back to sleep boys." Ezra said. Noel couldn't even look at them. Sean looked questioningly at Aria who was trying hard not look at Ezra.

"Why are you out here?" Sean asked.

"Yah, why _are _you out here?" Noel repeated. He looked bitterly at Aria who stepped back.

"Get your things Mr. Kahn. Please." Ezra commenced.

"Wait, what?" Sean asked. "He didn't do anything."

"Do you want me to punish you both too?"

Ezra stared down at Sean and James who shook their heads.

"But, they were talking to!" Noel yelled. "Look I just got un-suspended and now you pick on me the first chance you get?"

Noel got right up into Ezra's face.

"Noel stop." Aria pleaded.

Noel's face reddened.

"Noel!"

"What on earth is going on?" A voice sounded from the end of the hall. Mrs. Kaine emerged from her room in a bathrobe and pink, bunny slippers. Soon doors were opening and everyone was looking out in the hallway to see what was going on. Spencer, Hanna and Emily all stepped outside.

"Ezra, what are you doing?" Mrs. Kaine asked.

"Sorry Mrs. Kaine, I was just disciplining Mr. Kahn." Noel leaned against the wall behind him. "He was disrupting a roommate."

"I knew it." Noel muttered and glared at Lucas.

"Alright, everyone back to bed. Mr. Kahn come with me." She gestured for Noel to follow her then noticed no one had moved. "Now!"

Spencer walked up to Aria. "What was that about?"

Aria shrugged. "I have no idea."

"What happened to your face?" Spencer's brow crinkled into one. "There's a red streak on your forehead."

Aria reached up and touched her face. "Oh, I hit my head."

"Sorry to wake you girls." He said and walked back towards his room. He looked back at Aria who was watching him. He gave a tight smile and closed the door behind him.

"Seriously, what went on out there?" Hanna asked once they were all inside. Aria climbed back into the bed she shared with Spencer.

"I seriously don't know." She answered a little bit annoyed. She didn't have enough energy to explain. All she wanted was to walk down the hall and climb into bed with Ezra and pretend like this never happened.


	6. Even the cats are watching you

The elevator was particularly cramped at this hour. Not only was the class returning from another day of sightseeing in London, but it was also a busy time for the hotel. Many new guests were checking in to their rooms. Aria blew a strand of hair out of her face as she looked at herself in the reflection from the elevator doors. A businessman in a gray suit was standing next to her looking less than pleased to be sharing an elevator with a handful of teenagers. Suddenly his cell rang. Spencer, who was in the back of the elevator, cleared her throat. They always tensed up when _any _phone rang. Aria shook a little too out of habit but she mentally sighed in relief when she realized it wasn't actually her phone. She hadn't used it since they were in Philly. The elevator produced a _ding! _and Mr. Gray Suit left. Two floors up they all piled out and went into their respective rooms. Ezra was leaned against the wall checking names off a clipboard. He acknowledged Aria with a small smile as she slowly walked back to her room. Once everyone was accounted for and had their backs turned to him, he caught Aria's glance and held up nine fingers. Aria nodded and disappeared into her room.

"Ugh…so much walking." Hanna groaned as she flung herself across the bed. She took off her black Betsy Johnson heels and massaged her aching feet. Emily opened her suitcase and retrieved her pajamas.

"Maybe you shouldn't wear heels in a city where we have to walk everywhere." Emily pointed out. She waved her pajamas in the air and walked through the bathroom door. Hanna shrugged and fished for her iPod that was nestled somewhere at the bottom of her purse. Spencer was at the opposite end of the room setting the alarm next to her bed. Aria maneuvered around her and opened her suitcase. She was about to reach for the black dress she had packed when Emily burst through the door with her toothbrush in her mouth. She eyed Aria curiously when she saw Aria's 'I'm totally busted' face. Aria pretended she didn't even flinch. She grabbed her robe off the hook on the bathroom door and her pajama pants. She had an idea.

Once the bathroom was all hers, she got into the dress, slipped the flannel pajama pants on underneath and covered it all up with her robe. Outside Spencer was already in bed reading, Hanna had her eyes covered with an eye mask and Emily was locking the door. Aria glanced at the clock, it read 8:52. This was the time to get nervous.

"You going to bed?" Aria asked in her best nonchalant voice. Emily nodded in response and got under the covers of the queen sized bed she shared with Hanna. The bed shook but Hanna didn't move a muscle. She was sound asleep. Spencer's eyes looked glazed over and Aria noticed she was rereading the same sentence over and over again. Spencer sighed and set the book down on the nightstand.

"I'm going to sleep." She announced and turned onto her right side. Soon her light was out and it was just Aria and Emily. Aria waited until she knew Spencer was asleep to glance at Emily. She had her eyes closed and her breathing had slowed down. _Good, _Aria thought. _That's a good sign. _She tiptoed towards her suitcase and grabbed the black pumps that were inside. She quietly put the robe on her bed and ever so softly retreated towards the door. She shuddered as a couple steps produced a small creak but no one awoke. She grabbed her purse and she was out the door. She silently closed it and half-sprinted towards the elevator. She felt butterflies in her stomach as she watched the numbers reach four. She prayed Mrs. Kaine wasn't on the other side of the elevator door. Thankfully she wasn't. Once the doors closed, Aria set her purse down and grabbed the bobby pins she was holding with her teeth. Using the shiny doors, she put her hair up into a bun and made sure she looked semi decent.

Ezra was waiting in the lobby. The woman at the check-in counter was back in an office. He checked his watch. It was nearing nine. Suddenly he heard the elevators and his breath caught in his chest. Out came Aria in a black dress, holding her black heels while clutching onto the purse that was slung from her shoulders. She looked absolutely breathtaking. She had swiped on some lip gloss on the way down and she looked prettier than ever. Ezra couldn't help but smile big when he saw her.

"Hey." she said.

"Hey," was all he could think of responding. He closed his eyes in remorse. "You, you look beautiful."

Aria smiled and reached for his arm to steady herself as she put on the heels. It was as if she had grown five inches and now she was closer to his face than ever. He planted a small kiss on her lips and led her outside. In front of the door was a cab that was advertising the play "Mamma Mia!" in bright pink letters.

"You're lucky the completely pink cab didn't show up. I would've never lived that down." Ezra opened the door as Aria scooted inside. He followed and told the cab driver where to go like he had been around the city his whole life. Their hands brushed as they buckled up and he latched his pinkey onto hers. The drive was there shortly and soon they were outside one of the many restaurants in the St. James Soho. Aria couldn't contain her excitement. Having a dinner with him that wasn't inside his apartment was a first. She couldn't believe they were doing this _and_ getting away with it. To the cab driver they looked like a young couple going on a date, which was an upside to the fact she looked a college student. The downside was that Ezra had mistaken her for one the first time they met. But that wasn't anything to be ashamed of. He had pondered on that many times and concluded that he didn't care if she was in high school, he knew he loved her.

They walked into the restaurant hand in hand and were led towards a table in the back. Aria smiled as she sat across from him. He was wearing one of the many ties she gave him. She mentally noted to get him one before they left tomorrow afternoon.

"So, what time does the train leave tomorrow?" Aria asked as she scanned the menu. She felt something nudge her foot. It was Ezra's shoe. She slipped off her heels and tapped her toes on the tops of his shoes.

Without looking up Ezra replied, "Noon, I think."

Aria sighed. "This is nice." Ezra looked up and met her gaze. He felt a tug in his stomach every time he looked at her with those big eyes and the beautiful dark brown hair. He reached across the table and took her hand. He kept it here as he stroked the top of her palm with his thumb. Then their food arrived. Ezra reluctantly let go of her hand so he could dig in. All throughout dinner he would look up and find her smiling at him. They talked and laughed all night swapping even more stories.

"He really did that?" Ezra asked disgusted.

Aria giggled and nodded. "We found it under the seat two months later."

She was referring to the time Mike had dropped a half-eaten Subway sandwich under the seat in her mother's car.

"Yah my brother did some strange things back in the day." He nibbled on the last of the garlic bread.

"Do you ever see him?" Aria asked. She reached out and ripped a piece for herself. Ezra playfully pulled it away.

"Hey…I like garlic bread!" He sighed and smiled. "And no, I haven't seen him since the summer."

Aria wondered what he'd been up to during the summer while she was still in Iceland. To think that when she was off in the morning doing yoga classes with the Icelandic, Ezra was probably enjoying his summer before his first teaching job. It marveled her how one little thing like that could change her life. If he had wanted to teach something else or even _somewhere_ else they might not have met. She wondered what her life would have been like.

"What are you thinking about?" Ezra asked bringing Aria back into the present.

"Oh, I was just thinking about what would've happened if I never met you." Aria replied. She realized how deep the words were and how calm it came out. "I mean, it would've been weird not having you around, especially with what happened with Alison. Who knew, I might've even hated English class!"

Ezra laughed. "That's some pretty deep thinking."

Aria looked around the restaurant again. She hadn't noticed all the collectibles that were on shelves randomly fixated on the walls. There were cat figurines everywhere, some even stuffed. Now that was a picture perfect moment. She took a picture of two cat statues made out of porcelain on a shelf above her. The two cats were snuggled against each other like a couple. Mr. and Mrs. Cat. She would forever remember those, no matter how old she got.

"Well, wanna head out?" He asked.

"Thanks for this." Aria blurted out. He smiled as she put on his coat. He walked over and kissed her on the cheek. She stood up and followed him out. After he had paid a lady at a register up front, they walked outside. The wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped. Aria snuggled close to Ezra to keep warm. She shivered in her short sleeves. Ezra noticed and took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. His long sleeve shirt was good enough. They walked down the street arms wrapped each other, not even bothering to hail a cab. Once they had probably walked at least six blocks Aria had slowed down. Her shoes were blistering her ankles she just knew it. She winced.

"You okay? Want me to carry you?" He teased. She gave him a ha-ha-very-funny look and kept walking. Her bare legs were filled with goose bumps now as they rounded the corner on Baker Street. All the stores were closed but there was still people milling around. The hotel was just down the street. She stopped and glance down at her sore feet. She heard Ezra sigh and soon he was in front of her.

"Um…Ezra?" She asked confused.

"Just jump onto my back." He grabbed her legs as she held onto his coat and neck for dear life. "You're not as heavy as I thought you'd be."

She kicked him with the back of her heel. "Ow! Heels!"

She started to laugh and by the time they approached the hotel she couldn't stop. Ezra was laughing too as he set her down. She grabbed both his hands and looked up at him.

"Thanks for dinner and for the piggy-back. And for the jacket." She added. She handed it back to him. She was about to turn away but he grabbed her wrist and spun her around. She held her waist as the kissed right in front of the hotel. Aria felt the hotel building behind her back and they kissed harder. They heard a thump across the street at the crowded pub. She took one last look around the block. This was their last night here in London and tomorrow they would be headed to Stratford-Upon-Avon where their real journey would begin.

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long since i've updated this! I've been busy for the past few weeks studying like crazy, but now i'm on break and hopefully I'll be able to post another chapter in my other Ezria fanfic. **

**Oh and just in case you're wondering, while I was in London I did see an all pink cab for "Mamma Mia!". I wanted to ride in it but my dad refused. Also there really is a restaurant somewhere that has cats everywhere, and I mean everywhere. **

**Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Holidays!**


End file.
